COVER STORY
A small black bag, holding all of refugee Ismail Wafaee’s possessions when he arrived in Australia, bears witness to his past. But a band of activists and friends are working to secure a better future for him and other asylum seekers
Asylum seekers find support and friendship from a dedicated band of activists who open their hearts and their homes
At first sight, the black daypack in a display case off the central gallery at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is fairly unobtrusive. For most visitors headed to the museum’s larger exhibits it’s easy to overlook. But for one man, Ismail Wafaee, a Hazara man from Afghanistan who made the dangerous boat crossing from Indonesia to Australia in a bid for a better life, that daypack and its contents once meant everything. In it was everything he owned: a couple of T-shirts, a pair of jeans and a jacket. Most laundry lists are longer.
These days Wafaee leads a quieter life in the city fringes of Hobart, living in the house of his friends and fierce supporters Helen Semler and Ian Terry. In the six years they’ve known each other, Wafaee has been showered with much-needed practical and emotional support by Semler and Terry, who continue to advocate for his right to permanent residency in Australia. Last year Wafaee secured a temporary protection visa, which allows him to live and work in the country for five years. It also gives him the freedom of travel, but not to Afghanistan.
Within the community, some individuals have opened their homes to asylum seekers in need. One stalwart is Margaret Eldridge, an activist, author and teacher. She’s a vocal member of the Tassie Nannas, a group of protesters who knit peacefully every Friday in Elizabeth Mall in a silent demonstration against offshore detention. Over the years Eldridge has hosted 12 asylum seekers for varying lengths of time from a couple of nights to two years. In 2007 she was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her work with migrants and refugees.
Community and networking were also the catalyst for the friendship that has formed between young Hazara migrant turned law student and entrepreneur Haji Alizada and Julia Verdouw, a member of a faith-based group who has rallied her neighbourhood to provide ongoing support for new arrivals.
Dean Barker, head of Red Cross Tasmania’s migration support programs says: “There is an enormous amount of goodwill within the Tasmanian community and people have been mobilised to help. Their assistance is making people feel welcome here, in the face of what they may see on the news about boat people that doesn’t make them feel so important. You can’t put a value on how it feels to be welcomed. It makes a huge difference.”
Barker says the research shows that refugees, within five years, are pretty much all contributing to the economy. “The economic contribution of migrants and refugees in particularly well documented,” he says.
Immigration laws mandate that people who have come to Australia by boat – and most of the asylum seekers in Tasmania have arrived by boat – are placed in detention, some for a considerable amount of time. They face an unknown future because of protracted visa applications and are often unable to make long-term plans for themselves and their families, take out loans to buy houses or easily access further education.
There are about 100 asylum seekers living in Tasmania. These include Hazara people from Afghanistan, Kurdish people from Iran and the Tamil people from Sri Lanka.
In the past, asylum seekers have been supported by the Federal Government with a small income – equivalent to 89 per cent of the standard Newstart Centrelink payment [roughly $247 per week, advocates say] – and were provided with housing assistance and access to torture and trauma counselling while they made the transition to a new life.
As of last month, that assistance — provided via the Status Resolution Support Service program — has been cut to “work ready” asylum seekers who are not yet working, or who are studying for work qualifications or to improve their English.
With the withdrawal of this support many asylum seekers have had to change tack and find immediate work, which advocates say may make them vulnerable to exploitation in the workforce and less likely to settle successfully.
“The SRSS is not a social welfare program,” says a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs. “It is designed to provide support for certain non-citizens who are in the Australian community temporarily while their immigration status is being determined.”
For Semler, Terry and Eldridge the changes are another tipping point. But they are determined to continue to give a voice to this marginalised group.
As Semler says, “We’re all human. We are just incredibly lucky to have landed where we did when we were born”.